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FORMER arts and science dean at the University of
Victoria, John Leroy Climenhaga, died May 27 at age 91.
Climenhaga was widely regarded in the academic
community as a key advocate for UVic’s transition from its previous
status as Victoria College, in the 1950s and 60s.
In addition, according to Harry Dosso, who succeeded
him as head of the university’s physics department from 1969 to 1975,
Climenhaga “played a major role in guiding the physics department
into a broad spectrum of research fields.”
Less known was Climenhaga’s “solid
faith,” Dosso suggested in his tribute to the scientist, at the June
3 funeral in Emmanuel Baptist Church.
That faith was “evident in his values of honesty,
fairness and his goodwill and concern for others.
“During informal coffee breaks with colleagues,
he would at times refer to an incident from a relevant Bible story to show
a different perspective on the topic discussed.”
Climenhaga’s faith was a part of his
family’s legacy, as well. His father, Rueben, was a Brethren in
Christ pastor in Delisle, Saskatchewan at the time of his birth. And his
late brother, Arthur, was National Association of Evangelicals’
executive director in the 1960s.
During his active academic and administrative years at
UVic, he and his first wife, Grace, were stalwarts at the Victoria Free
Methodist Church, until its closing some three decades ago. Grace
Climenhaga died in 2001, after which he married Ila, who survives him.
Their church home in recent years was Pacific Rim Alliance/Pilgrim
Congregational.
In an unpublished biography, Dosso noted that, as head
of the physics department, Climenhaga campaigned for the creation of an
astronomy program, which commenced in 1965. Later, the observatory atop the
Elliott building, where the physics department is located, was named in his
honour.
“The dome, with its ‘smiley face’
painted as a prank by several senior physics students, became a landmark on
campus,” Dosso recalls.
He suggested that Climenhaga’s good judgment and
perseverance stood him in good stead in the turbulent 70s, when he was
UVic’s arts and science dean. Those qualities, together with
“his fair-minded and consistently honest approach to solving
difficult matters, did serve the university well.”
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Astronomy was not the only field where Climenhaga
encouraged expansion of the university’s research activities.
Also included in his purview were geophysics, nuclear
physics, acoustics, gas dynamics and theoretical physics. In the early 70s,
he championed the university’s participation in TRIUMF, the
Tri-university Meson Facility at University of British Columbia.
During his retirement years, he taught introductory
courses in physics and astronomy and gave many popular astronomy-related
talks in the community.
Climenhaga earned his BA and MA at the University of
Saskatchewan and a PhD from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. UVic
granted him an honorary doctorate in science in 1996.
And, on his 70th birthday, in 1987, the International
Astrophysical Union named an eight-kilometre asteroid (Minor Planet 3034
Climenhaga) in his honour. The asteroid orbits the Sun between Mars and
Jupiter.
Besides Ila, Climenhaga is survived by two children:
Joan Margaret Millar, a retired Victoria social worker and David, a
journalist.
– Lloyd Mackey
July 2008
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